This year, the International Youth Day (IYD) shall be observed with the theme "Youth and Mental Health" under the slogan 'Mental Health Matters' today, informed the Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD) of United Nations.

The theme has been chosen to create awareness about
the fact that 20 per cent of the youth of the world experience mental health
condition and require initiatives to address the issue.

In
Focus

"Efforts are needed to overcome this stigma to
ensure that young people with mental health conditions can lead full
and healthy lives free of isolation and unnecessary shame, and that
they openly seek the services and support they need. You can be part
of these efforts!" urges DSPD.

UN's DESA has the youth as its focal point and runs
an inter-agency network on youth development to promote
multi-dimensional approach to addressing the challenges faced by
young people with mental health issues, including tackling stigma and
promoting social inclusion to enable all young people to achieve
their aspirations and goals.

According to DESA, Youth with mental health
conditions can often experience stigma and discrimination, which in
turn can lead to exclusion and/or discourage people from seeking help
for fear of being negatively 'labeled'.

This UN agency stresses an international cooperation
for social development, particularly in the areas of poverty
eradication, productive employment and decent work and the social
inclusion of older persons, youth, family, persons with disabilities,
indigenous peoples, and persons marginalized from society and
development.